THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 9, 1996 TAG: 9607090236
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUNBURY LENGTH: 72 lines
A monster truck show here that created controversy before it opened apparently went off without any complaints.
``It couldn't have gone smoother,'' said William Townes of Townes Entertainment Group Inc. on Monday.
Gates County Sheriff Elmo Benton supported that statement. ``We had no problems whatsoever. It was a well-run event.''
Townes, 37, was still counting receipts Monday, but he estimated the crowd during the two-day event was between 2,500 and 4,000 people. Most came for the day, rather than to camp for the holiday weekend, he said.
Others said that the number was closer to 800 paid spectators and about 300 show-related personnel over the two days.
``It went fairly well,'' said Jim Boehm, director of the county Health Department, who had inspectors at the site to check sanitation conditions.
``In fact,'' Boehm said, ``they had in excess of the amount of Port-o-johns that they needed.''
Everyone - including citizens who had feared the worst - agreed that the event came off better than some had anticipated.
``It was very calm compared to what I had expected,'' said Loyce Ann Small, who lives across the street from the mud bog and track on N.C. 32. ``I really thought there'd be more people there.''
So did other Gates County residents who have lobbied for a few months to gain more county control of large events that could burden local services, such as police and fire and rescue.
Dale Cronce, a Sunbury resident who has been at the forefront of a citizens movement, said residents will continue to press for a local safety ordinance for crowds under 5,000.
A state mass-gathering law does not take effect until at least 5,000 people are on site for 24 hours or longer.
``We still feel there is a need for this. There are no laws on the books,'' Cronce said Monday.
Cronce and Sunbury resident Ronnie Powell first approached county officials in early May about enacting a local safety ordinanc.
At that time, Townes had estimated the crowd for his Motorsport Jamboree could have run as high as 8,000.
Last week, concerned residents filled the small commissioners' chambers at the Gates County Courthouse to again appeal for a local ordinance.
County Manager Ed McDuffie said at that meeting that he had researched the issue and found no other localities with such a local law.
Commissioners declined to take action at the meeting, saying they needed to consult with their attorney.
The panel's chairman, Sherwood Eason, also said the board wanted to wait and see how the event turned out before taking further steps to regulate such events.
This disappointed many in the crowd, who afterward accused the commissioners of being complacent when responding to citizens' requests.
``This is the most don't-bother-me group in the county that I've ever seen,'' said Dale Saunders, a Corapeake resident who serves on the county's Board of Education.
Powell said Monday that he also was surprised - and relieved - that crowds were smaller than expected. His only complaint was the noise level.
Powell worked until 7 a.m. Saturday at his Union Camp job and had hoped to sleep Saturday afternoon. He lives about 1,500 feet from Townes' property on Savage Road.
``When the noise started up, sleep was a thing of the past,'' Powell said.
But, he added, ``I don't think, other than the noise, that there was any other adverse effect on anybody.''
Townes said the success of this weekend's activities, which included sand and mud drag races, monster truck competitions and a ``human mud run'' for a $100 bill, will likely become an annual event.
He also said others have expressed an interest in renting the property for similar shows throughout the year, perhaps on a monthly basis.
Cronce said: ``The way things are growing all around us, things are going to continue to go on. And we need to be prepared.'' by CNB